OPINION

By Kadir Duran / Bruxelles Korner

Brussels is dying in a deafening silence.

And yet, no one seems willing to sound the alarm. Editorialists now say it openly as Fabrice Grosfilley did in his furious column: anger is replacing exhaustion.
But this anger is not only journalistic.
It is civic. It is bruxelloise and it is legitimate.

For months, the Region has been sinking, suffocated by the total incapacity of political parties to form a government. And while deadlines pile up, collapse, and renew themselves in a grotesque ballet, Brussels is sinking.

Two Billion Burned Because There Is No Government

The numbers are there cold, brutal, humiliating:

• €1.5 billion deficit at the end of 2024

• €125 million in additional deficit every month in 2025

• 16 months of political deadlock: €2 billion gone up in smoke

Two billion thrown out the window while negotiators treat politics like a board game. Two billion that will not finance schools, CPAS, associations, public transport, safety, cleanliness or hospitals.

Two billion that citizens will pay either through reduced services, higher taxes, or most likely, both.

• By December: €2.25 billion

• By February: €2.5 billion

• By Easter: €2.7 billion

A financial drift unimaginable in any normal state.
But here in Brussels, it has become routine.

The Parties Responsible: MR, PS, Open VLD… and the Others

In this general shipwreck, responsibilities are clear:

• MR, which promised to “reform Brussels in 100 days”, now stands at 526 days of total incapacity to conclude an agreement.

• PS, which refused N-VA but also refuses to make the necessary concessions for a realistic deal.

• Open VLD, playing the comedy of budgetary rigor to shine in Flanders… while adding €125 million in deficit every month.

The others are not much better:
Les Engagés remain silent, Vooruit sabotaged one of the only viable scenarios, Groen accepted an unnatural coalition simply to save itself politically.

No one can look at themselves in the mirror.

And Yet… All of This Could Have Been Avoided

There is a truth that no one dares say or that some have deliberately buried:

Brussels could have had a government long ago if Team Fouad Ahidar had been invited to the table.

Instead:

• an organized smear campaign,

• talk of “Muslim Brotherhood”, “extremists”, “sharia” — grotesque and dangerous lies,

• demonization of a deeply bruxellois program, supported by thousands of real residents.

What scares certain parties is not the program.
It is the possibility that real Brussels voices could finally speak.

The Greatest Hypocrisy: Many Elected Officials Aren’t Even From Brussels

This is one of the coldest realities:

Many of those who claim to “speak for Brussels”…

• never grew up here,

• do not live the local reality,

• do not know the neighborhoods, the schools, the families, the poverty, the tensions, the real needs.

The fracture is cultural, social and emotional.

You don’t govern Brussels from an office or a technical sheet.
You govern Brussels when you grew up in Brussels.

MPs Live in a Salary Bubble

How can they understand Brussels hardships when they:

• earn €15,000 gross per month,

• live far from the reality of the 10th decile,

• celebrate, toast, inaugurate and pose every evening,

• will never feel the consequences of the coming bankruptcy?

Meanwhile:

• CPAS lack resources,

• associations are collapsing,

• families survive with clenched teeth,

• the regional government is months away from a payment freeze.

A Political Class That Celebrates While Brussels Dies

How can one continue to:

• smile,

• cut ribbons,

• applaud in receptions,

• stage themselves at events…

…when everything will collapse in a few months?

When the coffers run dry:

• no more subsidies,

• no more support for associations,

• no more means for municipalities,

• no margin for anything.

And that day, those applauding you today will turn their backs.

We Are Praying for a State That Is Already Dead

And the most terrible part?

No one dares say the word.
No one dares tell the truth.
No one dares admit what everyone already knows.

Brussels is bankrupt.
Brussels is politically, financially, institutionally dead.

And no one is crying.

This silence, this cowardice, this total absence of political courage — this kills Brussels even more than the billions lost.

It is time to speak the truth.
Time to stop the masquerade.
Time for those destroying this Region to finally take responsibility.

Otherwise, yes:
they should change jobs.

After Brussels’ Funeral… It Will Be Your Turn

What many still refuse to understand is this:

The funeral of Brussels will not be the end of the story.
It will be the beginning of yours.

When a Region collapses, when a State falters, when coffers are empty, politicians never pay the bill.

You will.

And they will make sure it is steep.

After the symbolic coffin of Brussels, it will be your wallet, your family, your assets, your daily life that will be buried.

Here Is What Awaits You

They Will Tax You to the Maximum

They will raise:

• registration duties,

• inheritance taxes,

• gift taxes,

• every possible regional tax.

They Will Cut All Tax Advantages

Current deductions?
Renovation incentives?
Support mechanisms?
All will be reduced, cut or emptied of substance.

They Will No Longer Protect Property Owners

Neither in Belgium nor abroad.
Real estate — here or in Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Italy — will be the easy target of a desperate State.

They Will Seize, Confiscate, Penalize

Your car?
Your home?
Your business?

Expect:

• seizures,

• administrative confiscations,

• penalties,

• interests,

• fines.

Traffic Fines Will Explode

Every radar will become a cash machine to refill empty coffers.

Circulation Taxes Will Rise

With no majority, no debate — only the need for quick money.

School Fees Will Increase

To fund:

• underfinanced schools,

• collapsing infrastructures,

• broke municipalities.

Public Transport Will Become a Luxury

Fewer subsidies = higher prices, less frequency, lower quality.

So… Is This Really What You Want?

For your children?
Your family?
Your Region?

Wake up.

If you continue to watch Brussels die without reacting, this nightmare will become your reality.

Brussels is dying.
But you —
you are still alive.

Source : Bruxelles Korner